Yarden Gerbi (or Jerbi,[3]Hebrew:ירדן ג'רבי; born 8 July 1989) is an Israeli formerjudoka world champion. She won an Olympic bronze medal competing forIsrael at the 2016 Summer Olympics, inwomen's 63 kg judo.[4][5]
Gerbi won the gold medal at the2013 World Judo Championships in the–63 kg category.[6][7][8] She won the Israeli championship five times by the age of 24, and was a silver medalist in the2009 Maccabiah Games.
Gerbi was born inKfar Saba,Israel, to a family ofTunisian Jewish descent fromDjerba. She was raised and also currently resides inNetanya, Israel.[8][9][10][11] Her nicknames are Jordan, Gerb, and Denush.[2] She attended theOpen University of Israel, studying Economics and Management.[2][12]
On 27 September 2022, Gerbi came out as gay and revealed her then-ongoing relationship with photographer Dana Lavi, daughter of Israeli actor Amos Lavi. They split up the following year.
In the summer of 2023 Gerbi began a relationship with Adi Imbar. The couple announced their engagement in April 2024.
Gerbi, who began practicing judo at age 6, trains with club Meditav Netanya.[8]Shany Hershko [he], former coach of the Israeli women's national judo team, has been her trainer since childhood.[8][13]
In 2007, Gerbi won the Israel Championships.[14]
In 2008, Gerbi won the Israel Championships, the Under-23 Israel Championships, and took third in the2008 European Junior Championships.[15]
In 2009, Gerbi won the Israel Championships and the Belo Horizonte World Cup, placed second in the2009 Maccabiah Games and took third place in the2009 Qingdao Grand Prix.[15][16][17]
Gerbi came in second in the2010 Qingdao Grand Prix.[18] That year she also finished second in the Baku and Birmingham World Cups, third in the Warsaw World Cup and came in 7th place at the2010 World Championships.[15] In 2011, she won the Israeli Championships, came in second in the San Salvador and Miami World Cups, third in the2011 Moscow Grand Slam and the2011 World Masters in Baku, and fifth in the2011 European Championships.[15] Gerbi was eliminated in the third round of the2011 World Championships and did not qualify to representIsrael at the 2012 Summer Olympics.[8]
In 2012, Gerbi won the Tashkent World Cup and the Israel Championships, took second in the2012 European Championships in Russia,[8][19] and took third in the2012 Düsseldorf Grand Prix.[15][20][21]
In 2013, prior to the World Championships, Gerbi won the2013 Baku Grand Slam[22] and the2013 Moscow Grand Slam,[23] took second in the2013 Samsun Grand Prix,[24] third in the2013 Düsseldorf Grand Prix[25] and at the2013 European Championships.[26][14][15] She achieved a world ranking of No. 1 in May 2013.[27]
In August 2013, at the age of 24, she won the gold medal at the2013 World Championships in Rio de Janeiro in the category–63 kg, defeating each of her five opponents unconditionally.[6][7][8][28] She defeated No. 2-rankedClarisse Agbegnenou of France, the European champion, in the final by dislocating her shoulder and rendering her unconscious with achokehold in 43 seconds.[8][12][13][28][29] She recorded anippon in each of her five fights on the way to the championship.[13][28] Commenting on the reaction from Israelis to her championship, she said: "I received three marriage proposals."[30]
Gerbi became the first Israeli to win a gold medal at the Judo World Championships.[29] IsraelisYael Arad (1991 – bronze, 1993 – silver),Oren Smadja (1995 – silver), andAriel Ze'evi (2001 – silver) had each previously won a silver medal in the championships, andAlice Schlesinger had most recently won a bronze medal in 2009; also Olympic medals, which is Gerbi's next goal, have been won by Arad (Barcelona 1992 – silver), Smadja (Barcelona 1992 – bronze), and Ze'evi (Athens 2004 – bronze).[13][31]
Gerbi was voted Israeli Sports Personality of the Year in 2013 by the readers ofThe Jerusalem Post.[32]
_vs_Gerbi_(ISR)_at_the_bronze_final_of_the_2015_European_Games.jpg)
At the2014 World Championships in the Russian city of Chelyabinsk, Gerbi won the silver medal after losing by an ippon to Frenchwoman Clarice Agbegnenou in the final of the–63 kg category.[33][34][35]
In December 2014, Gerbi was named Israeli Sportswoman of the Year.[36]
In 2015, Gerbi won a bronze medal at the2015 European Games.[37]
On 17 October, Gerbi won a bronze medal in the2015 Paris Grand Slam after defeatingMiho Minei from Japan.[38][39] Two weeks later on 31 October 2015, she won bronze again, this time in the2015 Abu Dhabi Grand Slam, after defeatingJuul Franssen from the Netherlands.[40][41]
On 9 August 2016, Gerbi won a bronze medal for her nativeIsrael at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (shared withAnicka van Emden).[4] Prior to her win, she was ranked among the top 14 eligible female judokas in her category as of 30 May 2016.[42] After losing to hometown BrazilianMariana Silva in the quarter-finals, Gerbi won her next tworepechage fights to win the bronze medal.
Gerbi took part in the torch lighting ceremony at the2017 Maccabiah Games on 6 July 2017.[43]On 2 October of that year, Gerbi announced her retirement from judo.[44]
Sources:[45]
| Year | Tournament | Place | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Grand Prix Qingdao |  | [17] |
| 2010 | Grand Prix Qingdao |  | [18] |
| 2011 | World Masters | | [46] |
| Grand Slam Moscow | | [47] | |
| 2012 | Grand Prix Düsseldorf | | [21] |
| European Championships | | [19] | |
| 2013 | Grand Prix Düsseldorf | | [25] |
| Grand Prix Samsun | | [24] | |
| European Championships | | [26] | |
| Grand Slam Baku |  | [22] | |
| World Masters | | [48] | |
| Grand Slam Moscow | | [23] | |
| World Championships | | [6] | |
| 2014 | Grand Prix Düsseldorf | | [49] |
| Grand Prix Tbilisi | | [50] | |
| World Championships | | [33] | |
| Grand Prix Astana | | [51] | |
| Grand Prix Tashkent | | [52] | |
| Grand Prix Qingdao | | [53] | |
| 2015 | Grand Prix Zagreb | | [54] |
| European Games | | [37] | |
| Grand Slam Tyumen | | [55] | |
| Grand Slam Paris | | [38] | |
| Grand Slam Abu Dhabi | | [40] | |
| 2016 | Grand Prix Havana | | [56] |
| Summer Olympics | | [4] |
In 2020, Gerbi competed in thethird VIP season ofIsrael's Survivor and finished in third place.[57]
In 2021, Gerbi began hosting theNinja Israel [he] show onChannel 12.[58]
In 2024, Gerbi competed in the10th season of Israel'sRokdim Im Kokhavim ('Dancing with the Stars'), where she was eliminated 13th (out of 21 couples), in the second round of the live show stage.[59]
Gold medalists | |
|---|---|
Silver medalists |
|
Bronze medalists | |
World Judo Championships — Women's Half Middleweight | |
|---|---|
1980–97: –61 kg • 1999–present: –63 kg | |
| |
